Raku kiln

Home made but effective

Raku is great fun, and it seems that many potters are also closet pyromaniacs.

There are many excellent designs out there, this is the one we use as it seems a bit more robust than the mesh framed versions. Little details to watch when you are making this are:

Ceramic fibre is horrible stuff to work with. Wear suitable protective gear, including a dust mask.

Cut edges of steel can be sharp. We use a plasma cutter to cut ours, as that leaves a rounded edge on the cut.

We use a standard kiln shelf in the bottom of the drum on top of the fibre.

The working shelf is set on kiln props (stilts) about 6 inches (15 cms) up from the bottom.

We use a roofing burner (also known as a garden weed burner). Make sure it points horizontally into the kiln to avoid flame directly impinging on your pots.

You can make a smaller version from a galvanised dustbin, but they don't last very long as the galvanising burns off and the remaining steel is not very thick! Thank you Derek for reminding me about the dangers of zinc inhalation - You should note that the fumes given off by heating galvaised metal can be dangerous. See Wikipedia for details.